Good vibes at Sydney Show

The full might of Australia’s RV industry was on display at the recent New South Wales Caravan, Camping and Holiday Supershow.

A huge variety of vans, motorhomes and campers were on display at the Sydney Show.

Like most of the big city shows, the name is always a mouthful, so just about everyone calls this shindig ‘the Sydney Caravan Show’; ‘caravan’ meaning anything vaguely related to any recreational vehicle and/or camping.

I spent a few days getting around the show, and it certainly takes at least a couple of days to see it in all its glory. Along the way, I saw plenty of shiny new caravans, camper trailers, motorhomes and fifth wheelers, as well as heaps of related accessories. There was even a good selection of those flappy canvas things; tents, I think they are called?

Winnebago’s bright new Minnie caravans made quite a splash in an eye-catching array of colours (check out our review of the Minnie in the upcoming June issue of Caravan World), while the cute little Alto pod by Roma Caravans attracted plenty of attention (stay tuned for the full review in a later issue of CW).

Lightweight caravans, such as Adria and Jurgens models, which can be towed by family sedans and other small vehicles were popular with browsers, while the big boys of the tandem-axle, offroad and family varieties were as prevalent as ever.

One thing that has become obvious in recent years, and never more so than at the shows, is the rise and rise of technology – LED lighting, more efficient and lighter air-conditioners, higher capacity DC electrical systems and even a very interesting device called ‘eZylevel’ for getting a caravan levelled quickly.

There were also plenty of exhibitors from the caravan park sector as well as destinations, which well and truly adds to the excitement of getting on the road and seeing Australia.

At the time of writing, show attendance figures were not available but, anecdotally, a number of exhibitors said sales or good leads were consistent with past years or even better, in some cases. Clearly, discerning buyers are still keen to get their RV dream into reality and that can only be a good thing for the industry as a whole.